By the time the midterms ended, Vikram had completely forgotten about the day he had spent with Aditya by the lake. He had forgotten about the way he had looked at Aditya, like watching him gave his life meaning and how they had talked for a long, long time, even after the rain had stopped and the school day had ended and how he'd become fond of Aditya's company.

Well, not actually. Vikram remembered everything, every striking detail. He remembered each second they had spent together and he remembered, much to his dismay, how he had also wanted to pull Aditya to him and...

"It's 'mere-exposure effect and interpersonal attraction'." Vikram reminded himself once more like he had reminded himself every single day since then. The only problem was, he still didn't know what these words meant. All he knew was that if Vaibhav had pinned their friendship on these theories, Vikram could very well pin whatever he felt that day, on these theories as well.

"What are you muttering on your own?" Ruvee's voice reached him as she walked out of the examination hall with her pen in her hand. "Are you thinking about the questions you got wrong?"

Vikram shook his head. "I was just thinking about going home early today."

After the day at the lake, Vikram had come home to a strange realization that whatever he had felt by the lake, was not only wrong, but also very, very problematic. Whatever feelings he was harboring, should never come out because first, he didn't know how Aditya would react, and second, Vikram was scared that he might tell it to someone. And then, it would only be a matter of time before everyone at school found out.

It's mere-exposure effect and interpersonal attraction, Vikram thought again. These are not feelings. I don't have any feelings. It's just mere-exposure effect and interpersonal attraction.

"Oh?" Ruvee asked, "I thought we might hang out since the exams are officially over."

"I don't think Shruti is free though." Vikram said. "She plans on going shopping because her sister kept her on house arrest for the entire duration of the exams."

Ruvee laughed. "That's fine. You can come and Aditya too. In fact, bring Vaibhav along as well."

Vikram scrunched his nose, unsure if it was a good idea. Besides, he wasn't sure if he wanted to be in the same space as Aditya. Luckily for him, Aditya had been placed in a different class for the exams so technically, he hadn't seen him since that day at the lake.

"Oh come on." Ruvee said. "The midterms are over. I think we owe ourselves a little celebration."

Vikram didn't know how to turn her down. Saying no wasn't his strongest suit. Ruvee tried to convince him some more and Vikram finally gave in. He would take Vaibhav along. Vikram was sure he wouldn't even remotely think of Aditya and his torturously handsome face when Vaibhav was around.

"Great!" Ruvee said. "Come over at around 6."

Vikram nodded and his eyes travelled to the classroom just ahead and he saw Aditya walking out. Something heavy rose in the pits of Vikram's stomach and he didn't know how to deal with it.

He held Ruvee's arm and squeezed it lightly. "I'll see you tonight then." he said and with that, he turned around and dashed, as far and away from Aditya as possible.

It took Vikram half an hour to convince his mom to let Vaibhav out.

"I am not taking Vaibhav to a drug party. It's Ruvee. You know her. She came here a few days ago." Vikram said, reminding her of Ruvee's visit a week back when she had come to Vikram's house to borrow chemistry notes for the exams.

Meera shook her head as she sat in the living room. Deepak was turned towards the TV and was hardly paying any attention to what they were talking about. "It's not safe."

"Not safe from what?" Vikram asked. "Her parents are literally doctors."

Meera looked at him in concern. "What if something happens?"

"Nothing will happen." Vikram assured her. "I will be there with Vaibhav all the time."

Meera was still reluctant. Vikram looked around, hoping for Vaibhav to speak up but he wasn't there. Instead, he was in his room because he was in a cold war with their mom and didn't want to speak to her.

She sat on the sofa firmly, a woman of dignified grace always- one hand over the other and her back as straight as a ruler. She was tough, always but Vikram could see the fear in her eyes.

"I took him to the restaurant that day and nothing happened, did it?"

"No but..."

"Mom..." Vikram said and suddenly earned a slight gasp from her. It was obvious she was shocked and Vikram blamed Ruvee for it. She was the one who always kept correcting him, asking him to address her as 'mom' rather than anything else. "Trust me, he'll be fine."

Meera sighed but it was obvious that she was a little overwhelmed by the way Vikram had addressed her. "Fine." she said finally. "But he never leaves your sight, okay?"

Vikram smiled immediately. "Okay."

Ten minutes later, they were out of the house.

"Do you have your phone with you?" Vaibhav asked once they were out.

Vikram checked his pocket quickly and nodded.

"Great." Vaibhav said. "Call me when you leave Ruvee's place and I'll meet you here. Don't go inside the house without me."

"Wait..." Vikram began, not quite sure what Vaibhav was saying. "You're not coming with me?"

Vaibhav placed an empathetic hand on Vikram's shoulders and smiled. "Sorry to say but I have a life on my own and I don't want to waste my day out with you and your friends, no matter how nice they are."

Okay, that hurt a little but Vikram didn't let it show. As he watched Vaibhav walk in the opposite direction to his, all he could think was that his only safety net was walking away. The only safety net that could keep Vikram in check.

Coming to Ruvee's house had become a regular thing by now. Vikram had visited many times because she'd asked for notes or just called everyone over to hang out. They had all met her parents and Vikram thought of them as super-chill. One time, they had joined them all for a movie as well.

"Vikram." Ruvee's mom said as Vikram walked up to their front door. She was on her way out, it seemed. "How were your exams?"

"Good." Vikram said. "Are you leaving?"

She nodded. "I have a consultation at 7." she said. "Go in, Aditya is already inside." and with that, she walked to her car and drove away.

"What are we watching today?" Vikram asked as he stepped into the living room where Aditya already sat on one corner of the sofa and Ruvee on the other.

"Where is Vaibhav?" Ruvee asked instead of answering Vikram's question.

"He said he has a life and ditched me."

Ruvee laughed. "Serves you right." she said and picked up a bunch of DVDs from the coffee table. Vikram glanced at Aditya and gave him a curt smile. He didn't want to make things any more awkward than they already were.

"What about Moulin Rouge?"

"I don't do romance." Aditya said in a flat tone. Vikram looked at him again. Was it supposed to mean something?

Ruvee rolled her eyes. "What about My Dog Skip?"

Vikram jumped in. "Yes, let's watch that."

Ruvee laughed. "You like dogs?"

"Love them." Vikram said, walking up to the armchair and taking a seat. "When I was a kid, I wanted a dog so bad you have no idea but it could be risky for Vaibhav to play with it in his conditions so we never got around to having one."

Ruvee pursed her lips in sympathy. "Okay, let's watch it then."

She got up to place the DVD on the player and Vikram got up to go to the kitchen. "I'll get the popcorn ready."

Aditya's eyes trailed Vikram as he left and he noticed that Vikram was looking anywhere but at him. "I'll get the drinks." Aditya told Ruvee and followed Vikram.

Vikram pulled three packets of popcorn out from the shelf above the stove and was about to put one inside the microwave when Aditya walked in, taking Vikram by surprise.

"How did your exams go?" Aditya asked as he opened the fridge.

Vikram placed the packet of popcorn into the microwave and turned the timer on. "Fine. Yours?"

Aditya pulled out a bottle of coke. "Fine." He nodded at the cupboard behind Vikram to point at the glasses.

Turning around, Vikram pulled three glasses out before placing them on the kitchen counter. He knew he was acting weird, obviously, but he didn't know how else to act around Aditya. He knew Aditya was looking at him, he could feel it but he didn't have in him to look back into his eyes. His heart was beating so frantically under his t-shirt that he thought Aditya might hear it if he stepped closer. So, he turned towards the microwave, waiting for the first batch of popcorn to be ready and wishing for Aditya to leave.

But that didn't happen.

Instead, Aditya sneaked up behind him and leaned in. "We need to talk." he whispered into Vikram's ears. Cold shivers ran down Vikram's body the moment he felt Aditya's hot breath against his ears. Vikram breathed heavily and felt his knees turn to jelly before resting both his hands on the counter for support.

He closed his eyes, waiting for something, anything more from Aditya. He felt desperate and needy and perhaps a little excited. He wanted a little more from Aditya, a touch, a few words, the feeling of his breath against his neck, but nothing ever came. The timer on the microwave beeped and by the time Vikram came back to his senses, Aditya was gone.

Vikram swallowed a lump in his throat. What had just happened? What even the fuck was he thinking? Vikram shook his head and emptied his brain of the thoughts that had festered him a few seconds ago.

The thumping under his t-shirt still hadn't died down and he felt nervous. What did Aditya want to talk to him about? Vikram let out a heavy breath. No, whatever it was, Vikram wasn't interested. He didn't intend to take whatever this was any further than it had already gone.

"I need to put an end to this." Vikram said to himself before taking the bag of popcorn out into the hall, completely forgetting that two packets were yet to be puffed.

When Vikram reached the living room, he found Ruvee sitting on the rug, by the bottom of the sofa with a glass of coke in her hand.

"Just one?" she asked when she saw Vikram was holding just one bag of popcorn.

"Oh." Vikram said, a little flushed, "I forgot the rest. I'll go get them."

"That's okay." Ruvee said and patted the seat on the sofa behind her. "I'll get it later."

Vikram reluctantly approached and sat down, right across from Aditya. He stole a glance but Aditya showed no signs of the conversation they had a minute ago.

This was good, right?

Right. Then why did it sting Vikram so much?

Ruvee hit the play button and the movie started, drowning every thought from Vikram's mind.

After the movie ended, Ruvee ordered pizza, despite Aditya insisting that he'd cook. It was a hot summer night and the sky was moonless. Upon Ruvee's suggestion, they had moved to the rooftop of Ruvee's house and were now perched lazily, eating pizza.

The rooftop was big and open and very spacious. Since Ruvee's mom liked gardening, one half of the rooftop had been transformed into a garden that hosted plans of various types. The only ones Vikram recognized were roses. On the other side, there was a table with four chairs and a hammock just behind it.

Ruvee and Vikram sat around the table and Aditya was comfortably perched on the hammock with one hand behind his hand and a pizza slice on the other.

"What are your plans this summer?" Ruvee asked.

Vikram shrugged. "Nothing really. I haven't planned anything yet." Vikram said.

Ruvee's looked at him sternly. "Why not go around the city taking photos?"

Vikram wasn't sure. "Maybe." he said. "I do have a few books to read on photography."

Ruvee shook her head. "What good will the books do if you don't go out and practice?"

Vikram wanted to tell her she was right but he didn't know if he could venture out just like that. As a kid, Vikram was more open to exploring places and just roaming around endlessly while taking photos. But with time, he somehow lost touch with it until it started feeling awkward to hang his camera around his neck and just walkabout.

When Ruvee got no answer, she turned to Aditya. "What about you?" Ruvee asked.

Aditya didn't look their way. "I am working full time this summer." he said.

"You're going to waste your summer working?"

"It's not a waste when it's survival." he casually said like he hadn't just bombed them with this overshare.

Ruvee sighed. "I was supposed to work too..." she complained, "at a publishing company but that didn't fall through. So now I am spending my summer with my grandmother in Jaipur."

"Why?" Vikram asked.

"I applied for it too late. Someone else got selected." she said sadly.

"You can ask your parents to help, can't you?"

Ruvee shook her head. "The principles that Gaurav follows, where do you think those come from?" she asked. "My parents don't work like that."

That was kind of strange to Vikram. Usually parents did whatever they could to help their children do better in life. Better for whom though, was still debatable.

But Ruvee continued and it washed Vikram's confusion away. "They're both from very poor families and they built all this..." she said, pointing to her house in general which was, Vikram had to admit, humongous, "from scratch. So I guess they want us to do the same."

"That's nice of them." Vikram added but Ruvee scoffed.

"Nice for whom? Certainly not their own children." she said, "Dad says I'll understand when I get older but I don't want to understand, I just want to reap the benefits of having influential parents."

Suddenly Aditya turned to them and looked at Ruvee. "If you go downstairs and search your parents' room, I am pretty sure you'll find it."

"Find what?" Ruvee asked, her interest peaked.

Aditya turned and looked out into the sky again. "Your adoption certificate. You definitely do not seem like you're from this family."

In response, Ruvee got up, walked to Aditya and kicked him until he fell off the hammock.

Vikram laughed till he was on the floor himself.

They spent more time on the rooftop until the doorbell rang and Ruvee excused herself, saying her parents were home. Vikram was now standing by the edge of the roof, staring out into the well-lit city.

It was nice to have people to hang out with, Vikram presumed. When Mohit was in India, they'd spend time playing video games all day but Vikram wasn't too much into them. He'd still hang out because what else would he do. With Shruti, it was always shopping and Vikram hated that too. Neither of them ever considered what Vikram liked but here Ruvee was, wanting to involve herself in Vikram's hobbies. And then there was Aditya, who just went along with everything everyone decided, but had fun too.

Looking back, Vikram had never thought he'd find a group of friends where he thought he actually belonged. But being in the company of Ruvee and Aditya was natural and so comfortable that he couldn't even remember the last time he had hung out with Shruti individually. Well, he had wanted to initially but she always shot him down saying how she was busy or with Aditya.

Vikram knew that Aditya had his Saturdays off from the job at the hotel and in the beginning, he used to spend the entire day with Shruti but of late, he had been coming to Ruvee's place every Saturday where they all sat down and did nothing but watch movies, eat, laugh, talk and just be.

Vikram had realized a month into Shruti and Aditya dating that even though he had considered Shruti as his best friend, Shruti had never considered him to be one. It was a pattern he recognized only when he started blending with Ruvee and Aditya himself. It was only then did he realize that to Shruti, Vikram was a friend only when she didn't have any boyfriend. Vikram cursed himself for not figuring it out sooner because she did that repeatedly. She would ghost Vikram when she was dating and come running back after a break up. And Vikram took her back every time. Every damn time.

But he also realized that whatever she had with Aditya, was the longest-running relationship she had been in. The previous ones lasted for two or three months at max but with Aditya, she's been in a relationship for over five months now. And Vikram starkly remembered how she had told him that she loved Aditya.

An ugly feeling erupted in Vikram's chest when he thought about it and sank down to his stomach.

Just then, Aditya walked over to him and stood with his back against the wall and eyes out towards the garden, taking Vikram's mind off everything.

"Shruti is going to Switzerland on vacations, right?"

"Hmm?" Vikram asked, replaying the question in his mind. "Yes. She leaves the day after tomorrow."

Aditya bit into his lower lip like he wanted to say something but then turned silent. Vikram could feel the tension between them on the surface of his skin like it was piercing through an invisible screen that separated him from Aditya.

Why did he always make Vikram feel this way? And what was this feeling that smothered him? He did not even have a name for it. Vikram had spent hours, thinking about what went on inside of him whenever Aditya was near but he had no reason or explanation for it because he had never come across a feeling like that before.

Vikram felt like a storm raged inside of him every time Aditya looked at him or touched him or even breathed in his vicinity but then, watching Aditya gave Vikram the serenity that was as vast as the sky and as calm as the sunset.

It was paradoxical, really but that was what Aditya made him feel. Everything, all at once.

"I am breaking up with Shruti tomorrow." Aditya said after a while.

Vikram tried to wrap his head around what he had suddenly heard. "You're what?"

"It's been going on for too long, I should have ended it a long time ago."

What was happening? Didn't Aditya ask Shruti to give him some more time when she had told him that she loved him? And... was this what Aditya had earlier said he wanted to talk to Vikram about?

"Why?"

Aditya's eyes fixed on Vikram. "Why what?"

"Why do you want to break up? Didn't she tell you she loved you?"

Aditya nodded. "But I don't love her." he said in a low voice and suddenly, Vikram found something soaring inside his heart.

"You can tell her how you feel, if you like." Aditya added.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you like Shruti?"

Vikram gave out a small laugh. "That was like... a long time ago."

"Three months." Aditya said.

Vikram scorned at him. "Anyways, I don't like her like that now."

"You don't?" Aditya's eyes widened in surprise.

Vikram shook his head. "We're better off just as friends, if we are that."

Aditya gave him a soft smile and looked away.

After a few seconds, Vikram turned to him. "Why are you breaking up with Shruti now?"

At first, Aditya didn't say anything. Vikram thought he didn't want to answer, so he decided to let it go. He turned around and decided to go back downstairs to check what was taking Ruvee so long.